Lufthansa reinstates inbound passenger flights to India
- New bilateral agreement between India and Germany: Lufthansa able to offer flights to Delhi, Mumbai, and Bangalore effective immediately
- Passenger are now eligible to travel with Lufthansa into India / more than 40 flights on offer until end of August
- Lufthansa already operating outbound flights from Delhi, Mumbai, and Bangalore for several months
- New PCR coronavirus test centres at Frankfurt and Munich airports help avoid quarantine
- George Ettiyil: “Lufthansa is glad and feels privileged to help people to return to India and enable business travel again”
Following a bilateral agreement between India and Germany, inbound passenger flights to India will be reinstated as of 13 August for the following routes:
-Frankfurt to Delhi
-Munich to Delhi
-Frankfurt to Bangalore
-Frankfurt to Mumbai
More than 40 inbound flights to Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore will be on offer until the end of August. Lufthansa will formally apply for inbound flights to India beyond August in due time and will be in close consultation with Indian authorities to this end.
Lufthansa has already been operating outbound flights from India for several months, departing from Delhi, Mumbai, and Bangalore to its Frankfurt and Munich hubs, the latter being Europe’s only five-star-airport. All information on Indian authorities’ regulations that apply to Lufthansa flights to and from India are listed online at https://www.lufthansa.com/in/en/homepage.
“We are very glad and feel privileged to be able to help people return to India and to enable business travel as the world gradually begins to open up,” says George Ettiyil, Lufthansa Group’s senior director for South Asia sales. “Our flights to and from India underline Lufthansa’s ongoing commitment to enable travel in unprecedented times for our Indian customers while upholding the highest standards of safety and hygiene.“
Since July, Lufthansa has been offering Indian customers a convenient option
at Frankfurt and Munich airports to test for coronavirus at short notice. These PCR coronavirus tests only require only a throat swab and are certified by German health authorities. “Both coronavirus test centres at our hubs in Frankfurt and Munich provide customers the opportunity to avoid being quarantined when arriving in Germany, with a negative coronavirus test in their hand,” says Ettiyil. Results are usually available within four to five hours after testing and are linked to the customer’s flight ticket. Ettiyil: “This also makes it easier to travel safely to other countries worldwide that accept a certified PCR coronavirus test, thereby avoiding quarantine.“
Passenger safety is and will remain Lufthansa's top priority, especially with regard
to maximum hygiene on the ground and on board. For this reason, all procedures throughout the entire travel chain have been and will continue to be reviewed in order to guarantee the safety of everyone. These are based on the latest findings and hygiene standards advocated by experts.
Aircraft operated by Lufthansa Group airlines are equipped with filters that clean the cabin air of contaminants such as dust, bacteria and viruses. Even in the current situation, with the restrictions that sometimes accompany it, the Lufthansa Group strives to offer its guests maximum comfort and safety.
For measures on the ground, all airlines of the Lufthansa Group work closely with the respective airports at its home hubs and in the destination countries to ensure physical distancing and other hygiene measures. The obligation to wear a mouth and nose mask from boarding through the flight to disembarkation is a central element of the Lufthansa Group's hygiene concept.
The service on board has been redesigned, taking into account the duration of the flight, in order to minimize the interaction between guests and crew and reduce the risk of infection on board. In principle, the risk of contracting the virus during a flight is extremely low.